In-line sealed electrical connectors are known in the art. One in-line sealed electrical connector known in the art is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,440. This electrical connector includes a front insulating body formed with a plurality of parallel passages formed with respective abutment shoulders and has a rear tubular skirt. Each one of a plurality of electrical contacts is positioned in each respective passage and is in abutment against the shoulder thereof. An electrically insulating plate is insertable into and within the skirt. The plate has catch fingers arranged for abutment against a rearwardly directed shoulder formed on each contact for locking the contact. The plate can be locked in abutment against the front insulating body. The passages in the front insulating body have such a shape that the passages prevent the catch fingers from spreading apart and that the passages maintain the catch fingers against the shoulders of the contacts when the plate is in abutment against the insulating plate. An intermediate adapter has a tubular section which is insertable from the rear onto the skirt of the front insulating body and has forwardly projecting resilient fastening fingers arranged for snapping into recesses of the front insulating body when the intermediate adapter is forced into complete insertion.
Another in-line sealed electrical connector is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,800 as a connector assembly having inertia locking mechanism. The connector lock mechanism has a receptacle connector and a plug connector which are engaged with each other. The receptacle connector has a first lock portion and a first inertia locked portion. The plug connector has a second lock portion and a second inertia locked portion. The first lock portion is engaged with second lock portion. The first inertia locked portion is engaged with the second inertia locked portion. The first lock portion has a first locking piece and a push piece that moves the first locking piece. The first inertia locked portion has a lock arm provided with a second locking piece. The second lock portion has a third locking piece that engages with the first locking piece after abutment thereof or when the push piece is depressed. The second inertia locked portion has a fourth locking piece engaged with the second locking piece after a temporary resistance force against the mating of the connectors is produced.
In practice, these prior art in-line sealed electrical connectors might be too large to be used in certain applications such as in automobiles. For instance, for use in certain automobile applications, there are sometimes size-driven constraints that prevent the use of the prior art in-line sealed electrical connectors because of their relatively large size.
Also, in order to meet size-driven constraints, the in-line sealed electrical connector must be smaller. However, with smaller in-line sealed electrical connectors, sometimes it is difficult for a person connecting the mating parts to determine if the mating parts are oriented properly to assure proper connection of the mating electrical terminals.
It would be beneficial to provide a small in-line sealed electrical connector that can be used for applications with size-driven constraints.
It would also be beneficial to provide a small in-line sealed electrical connector in-line sealed electrical connector that can be used for applications with size-driven constraints and is designed to assure proper orientation of the mating parts for proper engagement of the mating electrical terminals. The present invention provides these benefits.